


Say You'll Hold a Place for Me in Your Heart

by Selimas



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Drinking, Fluff and Angst, I Will Go Down With This Ship, M/M, Nico just needs some sleep, Self-Harm, Will is such a dork, solangelo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-09
Updated: 2016-02-05
Packaged: 2018-05-05 21:39:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5391335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Selimas/pseuds/Selimas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nico hates going home to his dark and lonely apartment. The best alternative he can think of is getting himself lost in the Music Building at campus. When he hears beautiful music being played in one of the practice rooms, he decides to listen for a while. The music is so soothing and Nico hasn't had much sleep recently...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Wait for Me

**Author's Note:**

> Greetings! This is my first fic, so please be gentle... I haven't read Percy Jackson since the last HoO came out, so if they seem a bit OOC then oops. I just remembered all the feels and wanted these two dorks to get more time together.

Nico wasn’t sure where he planned on going when he roamed the University halls after his last mundane class on a Friday afternoon. All he knew was that he didn’t want to go home that day. He didn’t want to go back into the small, empty confines of his home…

He slows down his pace and takes a deep breath, realizing just how quickly he was barreling through the building. He could go into the library like he usually does, but even that became too much for him. Too much room to think. Nico likes it better when he doesn’t have to think.

Soon he finds himself entering the music building. Nico was never what you’d call “musically inclined." In fact, he’s pretty sure that if given the choice, every living organism would choose death rather than listen to him sing. Needless to say, he never stepped foot into this building. Today was different though, he needs to be distracted. He knows that the music building was basically a labyrinth that only music majors knew how to get around. Nico decides that getting lost and finding his way out again was a good enough distraction as any, at least for some time.

Bits of chorus, piano, band, and orchestra fill the halls as Nico makes his way through the building, making sure to not remember which direction he goes. He takes his phone out from his pants pocket and begins to play Solitaire to keep his mind busier. 

He turns sharply down a hallway and peers up from his phone to see a dead end. Then, all other noises seem to fall away when he hears crystal clear piano accompanied by the most soothing voice he’s ever heard.

  
_“…And I have desired_  
_To see your face, your smile_  
_To be with you wherever you are_

 _Remembering_  
_Your touch, your kiss_  
_Your warm embrace_  
_I'll find my way back to you_  
_Please say you'll be waiting”_

 

Nico freezes in place. He felt tears form in the corners of his eyes. He didn’t realize his mouth hung open until he felt drool almost escape his mouth. He closes his mouth and turns his head swiftly to see if anyone happened to see him in that oh-so-wonderful state. He sighs when he found it empty. _Gods, why am I such a mess_ , he thinks to himself.

He absentmindedly slips his phone back in his pocket and slowly walks up to the door where the soft melody is playing. The small window on the door is blocked off by a flyer for auditions of the upcoming play at their college, Romeo and Juliet. Nico sneers at the flyer, _I thought we were over that miserable excuse for a romance play long ago_. He leans against the wall near the door and slides to the ground. He wraps his arms around his legs and rests his head against his knees. _A few minutes won’t hurt, I suppose_.

  
_“Together again_  
_It would feel so good to be in your arms_  
_Where all my journeys end_  
_If you can make a promise_  
_If it's one that you can keep_  
_I vow to come for you_  
_If you wait for me_

 _And say you'll hold_  
_A place for me in your heart”_

 

* * *

 

 

“Hey, hey!” a voice calls to Nico, making him groan. “You don’t want someone to vandalize you in your sleep do you?”

“Wh-what?” Nico stutters as he slowly regains consciousness.

“Oh thank goodness, I thought you’d never wake up!” the gentle voice speaks again. Nico slowly opens his eyes to find a boy around his age staring at him with a grin on his tanned face, eyebrows raised in slight concern. He has curly blond hair with freckles brushed across his cheeks and nose. He wore a bright orange t-shirt, which contrasted Nico’s dark apparel.

Nico looks into the deep blue eyes of this stranger. _He’s beaut- No. Not this again. I don’t need this again_.

“It certainly looks like you need sleep though,” the blond says, smile disappearing for a second. Then he started to laugh silently. The sound was so bright and full, Nico could listen to it all day…

“I-is there a problem?” Nico asks the stranger, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and face. He pulls his hands away, feeling moisture on his hands. He then began to feel heat rising to his cheeks and covers his face with his sleeve. _Of course I’d drool. Why the heck not? He must think I’m an idiot, not that I’d have a chance anyways…_

The stranger laughs a bit harder. “Hey man, it happens to the best of us. No worries,” the blond says, his smile making Nico catch his breath. The boy reaches his hand down to Nico. “What are you doing sleeping in the Music Labyrinth anyways? I mean, I know the orchestra can make people konk out, but I don’t know anyone who’d willingly listen to them practice for any reason.”

Nico takes the blonde’s hand, hoping it wasn’t as clammy as he thought it was, and gets pulled to his feet. “Oh, you know…” Nico starts, mind racing to think of something. _Welp, time to go cliché_. Nico takes out his phone and taps the home button. “Oh my, would you look at the time, I gotta go!” Nico hopes that the stranger didn’t hear the fakeness in his voice as much as he did.

“Hey wait!” the blond says, but Nico is already briskly making his way down the hallway, trying to get as much distance as possible. He makes a bunch of random turns, not that he knew where he was going anyways. He breathes out when he didn’t hear footsteps following him.

 _Oh shit, how am I gonna get out of here now?_ Nico takes out his phone and Google searches the map of the music building. Just as he realizes there isn’t a map of the building, he slams into someone walking at a slower pace ahead of him, knocking music sheets onto the ground.

“Uh, sorry I wasn’t paying att-” Nico starts, then looks up to see that familiar curly blond hair. The boy bends over to pick up the music and turns around with eyebrows raised. When he sees Nico, he flashes his bright smile.

“Oh, fate has spoken. We have met yet again,” says the boy, blue eyes beaming. Nico could get lost in those eyes…

“I believe that this calls for the introduction that I was denied earlier,” the blond says. He theatrically places his hand on his chest. “My name is Will Solace. And yours?”

“Um, Nico di Angelo,” he replies. _Man, he may be… Look okay as far appearance goes, but his personality certainly something else._

“Pleasure to meet you, Dark One,” Will says. “Oh dang, that sounds racist. How about “Boy Clad In Black?" That’s a mouthful though. Maybe “Man In Black?” Now that sounds like the movie …”

“Just Nico is fine,” Nico interjects.

“Aw, don’t ruin the fun! I could have called you “Darth Drooler” or something!”

 _Okay, it’s official. He’s annoying_ , Nico thinks to himself. “Well, I think I’ll be going now,” Nico says pointedly, beginning to walk past the blond.

“Hey, wait! I didn’t mean to offend you! I honestly just have no filter sometimes. Actually, a lot of the time,” Will calls out to Nico.

He stops in his tracks, feeling a hand on his shoulder. The simple touch seems to fill Nico with warm sunlight. _Shit, I really do need to get out of here. It’s getting late. I don’t like the idea of staying with this Will Solace guy for longer than I have to, though. Nope. Not at all. I should just keep walking._

“Hey Solace.” Nico is surprised to hear his own voice. He feels heat rise to his cheeks as he turns to look into those stunning blue eyes. “I’m sort of lost… Can you show me how to get out of this maze?”


	2. In Which the Library is Not Meant for Yelling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanna know what sucks? Having two finals on the last day of finals week. Wanna know what sucks more? My college thinking it's a good idea to have finals until the 22nd. Who does that three days before Christmas? Anyway, I took a break from studying to write this. Now time to study again...

When something comes into a person's life that disrupts the everyday routine, everyone has either a fight or flight response. For Nico di Angelo, he would rather fly off the face of the earth than face a certain boy he met in the music building a few weeks ago. 

Don’t get him wrong, he enjoyed his time with this peculiar person named Will Solace. It may have been the first time in a long while that he felt _something_ besides empty. Whenever his thoughts travel back to the blond, Nico stares off into nothing, feeling his body slowly warm up remembering his bright smile and beautiful eyes. _That guy’s such an idiot_ , he thinks to himself, snapping himself out of the trance. He can’t help the smile that creeps on his face afterwards. 

But, all of these feelings Nico has for the strange boy are the very reason he wants to never see him again. He doesn’t want to build up something that can crash in front of him. Not again. 

“Hey Nico!” a voice calls out, drawing Nico away from his homework. He looks up and sees a head of blond hair, causing him to take a quick breath. For a second, Nico thought it was Will. 

He exhales slowly. Nico takes out his earbuds. “Hey Jason,” he replies solemnly. “It’s bad to yell in a library, you know.”

“Oh, is that all the greeting I get?” Jason asks, raising a brow. He takes a seat across from Nico. “You haven’t been hanging out with us in a while ya know, we were getting worried about you.” 

“Yeah, about that…” Nico starts. He isn’t sure how to answer. It’s not as though he doesn’t like being with his friends, it’s just _painful_ to be with them. Hanging out with them most likely means hanging out with _him_.

“I know it can be rough with Percy around, but you can’t keep running away,” Jason says, keeping his stern blue eyes locked on the dark-haired boy. Nico looks down at his now balled up fists, trembling slightly. Jason is the only one who knows about his old crush on Percy Jackson. Nico was content when _no one_ knew about his feelings for Percy, but alcohol can make anyone lose their filter. Even though Percy has been going out with his girlfriend, Annabeth, for months, Nico still isn’t sure himself if he can call this an “old crush” or not. “I know Hazel misses you,” Jason adds, seeing Nico’s unease, “She says you haven’t answered any of her calls or messages.”

“I know, I just…” Nico starts again. He takes a deep breath and looks up at Jason. “I just need some space to figure things out…”

“Hey Death Boy!” Nico’s eyes widen at the voice. He turns to meet those stunning blue eyes and bright smile. _It can’t be_. _I wasn’t supposed to see him again_. 

Even though his brain kept telling him to gather his stuff and _get the fuck out of here_ , his mouth seemed to have different ideas. “D-death Boy? What the hell?” Nico stutters, feeling his face heat up while he takes in the figure standing next to the table Nico’s sitting at. He’s wearing an orange t-shirt and skinny jeans, Nico couldn’t help but stare at how amazing he looked in those jeans. 

Will rests his hand on the table and leans against it. “Well, you turned down all my other amazing nicknames, I just had to think of a new one. It’s your fault for always wearing black, you know,” he says, smirk planted on his face.

“There’s always the option to use my real name,” Nico replied dryly.

“Pff, you know you like it,” he says while winking at Nico, causing his face to get even warmer, averting his gaze. “Besides, you deserve it for not talking to me for the past few weeks, considering I so generously showed you around the music building.” Nico still can't believe Will convinced him to give away his phone number those few weeks ago... He got bombarded by so many random memes that it was beginning to annoy him.

“I wouldn’t call it 'so generous' when you rambled on and on about the scientific reason why people drool,” Nico said, rolling his eyes. “I honestly don’t care if the medical term for it is cholera or whatever.” 

Will snorts. “It’s pronounced “sialorrhea”, cholera is an infection of the small intestine that usually results in vomiting, watery diarrhea-” 

“Oh my god Solace, please stop it,” Nico cuts in, putting his hands between himself and the blond.

Will laughs, the sound cutting through Nico making him catch his breath. “Who’s your friend?” the blond asks.

Nico turns to Jason, who until just now he forgot was even in the same room. He was staring at Nico with wide eyes and open mouth, causing Nico to raise a brow. “Are you okay Jason?”

Jason shakes his head. “Y- yeah, just fine. I’m Jason Grace,” he says, looking up at Will and reaching out his hand.

Will takes his hand in a firm shake. “Awesome! I’m Will Solace,” he says smiling brightly. He releases Jason’s hand and takes out his phone. “Oh crap, gonna be late! I’ll talk to you guys later.” He then turns to Nico with a smirk. “Text me,” he says, clicking his tongue and pointing toward the dark haired boy.

Heat rises to Nico’s face as he tries to think of a good comeback, but his mind goes blank. All he can do is watch as Will quickly walk out of the library. After Nico composes himself, he turns to Jason, whose face returned to that idiotic expression of disbelief he had before.

“You’re going to catch flies if you keep your mouth open like that,” Nico informs him.

“B- but you… With the face…” Jason stutters, trying to get his thoughts together.

“What? Do you have a problem?” Nico asks, raising a brow. 

Jason’s plants a smirk on his face, “You’re totally into that Will guy, aren’t you,” he finally says, blue eyes sparkling.

Nico’s face goes flush. “H- how? What are you talking about?”

“You’re face says everything! Do you know how long it took for me to convince you to give me your phone number?” _Yeah, and I’ve regretted giving it to you ever since_ , Nico thinks to himself. “I’m so happy for you, man.”

Nico shoots to his feet. “Happy for me? How could you be happy for me?!” Nico practically yells.

Jason stands and leans over the table to cover Nico’s mouth. “Shh, we’re in a library,” he whispers, looking around the room to the people at nearby tables staring at them. 

Nico slaps Jason’s hand off his mouth and settles back in his seat, crossing his arms. They sit in silence for a few moments, Nico giving Jason one of his famous death glares before looking down at his hands resting on his lap.

“You know, it’s okay to let people into your life. You’ll be much happier that way,” Jason says softly.

Nico snorts, starting to claw at the tender skin of his wrists, barely breaking the already bandaged and scarred skin. _The universe has already given me enough reasons to believe that I will never be happy_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love angst. No regrets.


	3. Latch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! If ya'll don't know the song, it's Latch by Sam Smith, the acoustic version.

Will: _Come ooooon_

Nico: _I said I don’t want to_

Will: _Pretty please?_

Nico: _Why do you want me to go so bad anyway?_

Will: _Because I want you to hear something_

Will: _It’ll be a whole lot easier to just say yes, ya know_

Nico sighs as he reads the last text message. They’ve been going back and forth about this for the past hour. _He really isn’t gonna let this go, is he?_ Nico thinks to himself. Nico sighs again.

Nico: _Fine, just don’t make it take too long. I still have homework_

Will: _I’ll try not to waste as much time as you did to say yes ;)_

Nico feels his face heat up as he stares down at the winky face. He throws his phone on his bed just to hear it vibrate again.

Will: _I’ll meet you in front of the music building in 5mins. See you there Death Boy!_

Nico frowns. Why did that nickname become a thing? He set down his phone on his nightstand and gets out of bed, stretching his aching arms from laying too long. He looks in the mirror hanging in his room to start combing his fingers through his usual disheveled, dark hair. What was unusual about the reflection was the smile that stretch across his face.

 

* * *

 

The sun beats down on Nico as he stands by the entrance to the music building. His dark long sleeve shirt certainly doesn’t help, but no way in hell is he going to wear a t-shirt. He can’t even remember if he still has one. Nico scans the area, getting impatient to be out of the heat. _Geez, he was the one so excited to show me something and he’s the one that takes forever,_ he thinks to himself. He catches his breath when he sees the blond boy, walking between two girls and laughing with them. Nico looks down at his old converse sneakers, trying to force down his mix of feelings in his chest.

_Why did I think this would be different from last time?_

Nico looks up again just in time for Will to spot him, his bright smile stretching across his face when he does so. He waves to the two girls and runs toward Nico, carrying papers under one arm that are most likely music score.

“Sorry about that! My friends saw me walking down and had a question about our Biology homework,” the blond says as he reaches Nico.

 _Must have been some hilarious homework then_ , Nico wants to say. Instead, he says “That’s fine. What did you want to show me?”

“You’ll see!” Will grabs Nico’s wrist and starts tugging him along, causing the dark haired boy to jump in the least subtle way possible. Will pauses, turning with knitted eyebrows and looking directly into Nico’s pale brown eyes. “Is there something wrong?”

Nico freezes, not expecting to see all the concern written on the other’s face. He looks down at his wrist, which is still covered by the other’s hand, then back up at Will’s face. Nico tries not to look directly into the blonde’s bright, blue eyes. “I- I’m fine.”

Will frowns, but nods his head and resumes to pull him by the wrist through the twists and turns of the building. Nico looks down at where Will’s had meets his wrist. There is a dull throb coming from where Wills hand connects to his wrist. For some reason, Nico didn’t mind the pain. He enjoys the warmth that seems to emanate from Will's skin. The warmth spreads from his wrist to the rest of his body.

All too soon, the two boys reach their destination. Much to Nico’s dismay, Will drops his arm and opens the door to a practice room. “After you, Death Boy,” he says, gesturing Nico to enter.

Nico snarls at the Will, causing the blond to giggle. Nico rolls his eyes, but walks into the room anyway. The sunlight from a small window in the room makes the already bright white walls glow even more, making Nico have to squint. There is only a piano in the center of the room and a few chairs surrounding it.

Will walks over to the piano bench and sits down. “Please, take a seat and enjoy the show,” he says, smiling up at Nico, causing the dark haired boy to blush and look away. He then takes a seat to the right of the piano.

While Will is getting his sheet music ready, Nico lifts one of his feet onto the chair, hugging his leg to his chest and resting his chin on his knee. “Why did you want me to listen to this again?”

“I already told you, I learned to play a new song the other day and I wanted you to listen to it,” Will replies, placing the sheet music on the piano.

“Okay… But why me of all people?” Nico asks, raising a brow.

Will stops what he’s doing and looks directly at Nico with wide blue eyes, causing the latter to grip his leg harder. The blond lets out a small laugh and looks down at the piano keys. “Well, you’re the only person who has ever heard me sing.” He pauses for a second. “I’m really not that good, so I don’t usually sing in front of people.”

Nico raises his brow and lifts his head from his knee. “Are you kidding? Your singing is-,“ he stops. Will’s blue eyes lock with his brown ones. Nico averts his gaze. “Your singing is pretty good.”

“T- thanks.” Will shakes his head, then his bright smile returns to his face. “Anyways, hopefully I don’t make you fall asleep this time. I don’t need you drooling because of me again,” he says with a wink.

Nico chokes on his breath and looks away. “Hah, you wish.”

“Well, here goes nothing,” Will says. Nico looks at the blond, seeing his fingers trembling over the keys. _Why does he seem so nervous? He’s really not that bad, and it’s just me listening to him_.

Soon, the room is filled with the sound of the piano and Will’s soothing voice.

 _"You lift my heart up when the rest of me is down_  
_You, you enchant me even when you're not around_  
_If there are boundaries, I will try to knock them down_  
_I’m latching on, babe, now I know what I have found_

 _I feel we're close enough_  
_Could I lock in your love?_  
_I feel we’re close enough_  
_Could I lock in your love?_

 _Now I’ve got you in my space_  
_I won’t let go of you_  
_Got you shackled in my embrace_  
_I’m latching on to you_

 _I’m so en-captured, got me wrapped up in your touch_  
_Feel so enamored, hold me tight within your clutch_  
_How do you do it? You got me losing every breath_  
_What did you give me to make my heart bleed out my chest?_

_I feel we're close enough…"_

 

* * *

 

Nico feels soft heat on his cheek, drawing him out of unconsciousness. He really wishes he was still asleep. He hardly gets nice, dreamless sleep anymore.

Nico groans a bit, and the warmth on his cheek quickly goes away. He opens his eyes slowly to see bright blue eyes staring at him intently, causing Nico to jump to his feet.

Will takes a step back. His cheeks are dusted with a light pink. “Geez, is my playing that boring to you? I didn’t even finish the song and you were already knocked out,” Will says, dramatically crossing his arms.

“Wh- what?” Nico asks, still trying to gather his bearings. He looks around the bright room and sees the piano. As soon as it clicks in his mind what happened, Nico quickly wipes the back of his hand on his mouth.

Will bursts out laughing, causing Nico to glare at him. “Unfortunately, your victory is in vain, Death Boy. You may not have drooled, but I still managed to take a picture of you sleeping!” Will takes out his phone and shows the Nico the picture.

“The hell? Delete that now!” Nico grabs at the phone, but Will has fast reflexes and dodges. After Nico’s next few attempts, Will stretches his hand with the phone all the way above his head and out of the dark haired boy’s grasp. Nico growls and gives Will his famous death glare, though it doesn't seem to phase him. “I hate you.”

“Pff, how could you hate all this?” Will gestures his body with his free hand and smirks. Nico feels heat rise to his cheeks as his eyes widen. Unfortunately for Nico, he does look very nice today in his tan shorts and blue shirt. That shirt really does bring out his eyes…

Nico shakes his head, trying to concentrate on something other than the person standing in front of him. He focuses on the small window in the room, then notices sunlight is no longer pouring into the room. “Holy shit! How long was I sleeping?”

“Oh, just a few hours. Gave me time to practice a bit though,” Will says nonchalantly.

“A few _hours_? I still have a project I have to finish by tomorrow!”

Will raises a brow. “Oh do you? Why don’t you stop being a typical college student and get it done sooner?”

“As if you don’t do the same thing!”

“I never said I wasn’t a typical college student.”

“You’re insufferable.”

“Thanks for the compliment,” Will replies, his smile beaming.

Nico rolls his eyes. “Can you just get me out of here before I fail my class, please?”

“Fine,” Will sighs, “as you wish Death Boy.” Nico groans at the nickname, but chooses not to argue, knowing it would just waste more time. Will gathers his music, then grabs Nico’s hand and leads him out the door. Nico looks down at where their hands meet and he feels a blush reach his cheeks.

Nico is getting too comfortable with this new warmth.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy all the fluff before the angst hits. It'll get real.


	4. Echo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Been a while, but it's a longer chapter, so yay? Mostly because I thought it would be awkward to break it in half lol

Nico jumps when he hears the sound of his doorbell echo through his small, empty apartment. He rarely ever gets visitors, Nico made sure of that. _Most likely someone trying to sell me something. Or Jason trying to be annoying._ Nico rolls his eyes as he stands up from his couch. He pauses for a second. _Wait… What if it’s Will?_ Nico’s breath quickens as he gets up and begins to slowly walk toward the door. _Who am I kidding? He doesn’t even know where I live._ Nico wants to slap himself for even thinking that, but he’s already opening the door. He is greeted by a mess of curly, cinnamon brown hair and golden eyes.

“Hazel?” Nico asks quizzically.

“Hey Nico,” she says, reaching to touch Nico’s cheek. The dark haired boy finches away on an impulse, causing Hazel to get a pained look.

“Uh, sorry,” he apologizes. “You can come and sit down if you want.”

Hazel nods, then sits down on the chair across from the couch Nico takes a seat in. They sit in silence for a few moments, taking in each other’s gaze. Nico looks into those sparkling, golden eyes and dark skin and he can’t help but wonder how they’re even related. Granted, they were only half siblings, but Hazel just looks so much more warm and _alive_ than he does. Nico wonders what Hazel sees when she looks into his pale brown eyes. He averts his gaze down at his hands, realizing they are balled into fists, his knuckles turning white.

“You remember what I offered you before, right?” Hazel says, breaking the silence. “You can always live with me and my mom if you want.”

“Hazel, I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about me,” Nico answers, looking back at Hazel, trying not to make exact eye contact.

“You just randomly stopped talking to us a few months ago. I can tell something is wrong,” she says, giving Nico the look he hates the most; sympathy. “You don’t have to be alone.”

Nico grunts. “I’m fine by myself. I don’t need anyone’s help.”

“Nico, please. We just want you to be happy.” Hazel locks her eyes on Nico’s. 

_Stop looking at me like that._

“Me? Happy? I’m fine. I don’t need to be happy. I don’t deserve to be happy.”

“Nico-”

_Don’t look at me with those eyes._

“Why doesn’t anyone understand I don’t need help? I don’t need anyone. I’m doing just fine by myself.”

“Please-”

_Stop looking at me._

“Just leave me alone already!” Nico yells. He doesn’t know when he stood from the couch, but there he was, looking down at Hazel, breathing heavily from raising his voice. The girl’s face has changed from sympathy to one that is guarded, even scared. Nico hated that look even more.

Nico falls back into the couch. “I- I’m sorry. I didn’t-”

“It’s okay,” Hazel interrupts. Nico sighs and puts his face in his hands. _Why am I always doing this?_

After a few moments, Nico hears Hazel adjust in her chair. When he looks up, he sees her with her usual warm smile. “Jason wanted me to let you know he is having a party tomorrow night. You’re invited to join us.”

“I- I don’t know if it’s a good idea for me to go,” Nico answers.

“Jason promised it will be a smaller one than last time. No alcohol either. Just a gathering with friends,” Hazel looks into the boy’s eyes almost pleadingly. “It’ll be fun and get you out of the house. Please?”

Nico sighs, contemplating. He looks at Hazel’s eyes again. He can’t stand the idea of her looking at him with those sad eyes any longer. He doesn’t want her to leave him. If he were to lose another sister… _No, not again._

“Okay... I’ll go.”

Hazel’s smile widens. “Really? That’s awesome!” She glances at the clock hanging in the room. “Oh crap! I’m supposed to meet Frank soon!” She quickly jumps from the chair. 

Nico follows her to the door. Hazel turns to look at Nico. She places her hand on his cheek and smiles. “I’m glad you’re coming. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Nico kisses her on the cheek and gives her a slight smile. “See you tomorrow.”

Hazel closes the door behind her and Nico stands at the doorway. He can’t help but think back to Jason’s last party. That was when he got so wasted he told Jason about his secret crush on Percy. Hazel did say that there will be no alcohol this time, but Nico knew that if it was one of Jason’s parties, Percy will be there. He hasn’t seen _him_ since that last party. 

Nico slowly walks back to the couch and slumps down, bringing his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around his legs. 

In that moment, he desperately wishes he could melt into the shadows, away from everything…

 

* * *

  
Nico is pretty sure that he changed his mind at least a thousand times in the past twenty four hours on whether or not he will actually go to the party he already agreed to go to. He stares at the door in front of him, seeing the lightning bolt sticker saying “Jason” with a fish sticker right beside it with the name “Percy”. He places his hand on the latter, running his finger beneath the name and studying the curves of all the letters, wondering yet again if this is a good idea. Before he could change his mind again, the door opens in front of him.

“Hey! I’m glad you could make it!” Jason smiles down at him with his glasses tilted slightly sideways, as per usual.

“Thanks,” he answers half-heartedly, scanning around the room. He lets out a relieved sigh when he sees that the only people in the room are Hazel, Frank, and Piper playing some card game. They all look up at him when he walks in. Hazel waves at him with a smile, Frank and Piper just seem surprised that he came at all.

Nico feels something brush by his shoulder. “Hello everybody! The life of the party has arrived!” A mess of curly dark brown hair rushes by, going to the table where Frank, Hazel, and Piper were sitting and places a bunch of plastic grocery bags on top of their card game. 

“Leo, we were in the middle of a game,” Frank moans.

“Pff, we don’t need your silly card games when we have this!” Leo says, gesturing to the bags with his best gameshow-host voice. He reaches into one of the bags and pulls out a big bottle of Bacardi. 

“Leo, I told you no alcohol today,” Jason asserts.

“Come on Jason, live a little. We’re at college! It’s basically a taboo if you don’t get wasted at a party!” Leo says with a hand on his hip.

Jason sighs and looks at Nico mouthing a quick apology before gesturing him to join the rest of the group around the table. Nico follows reluctantly, wondering if it's too late to run out the door. He takes a seat between Jason and Hazel as Leo begins to pass out red solo cups to everybody. When he passes one to Nico, his mouth makes an O shape, probably just realizing he was there even though Leo bumped into him when he arrived.

Leo looks around the room. “Where the hell is Percabeth?”

“Uh, Percabeth?” Hazel asks.

Leo rolls his eyes. “You know, Percy and Annabeth! They’re inseparable the past few months, they might as well be one person.”

“Leo,” Jason says sternly, glaring at him. Jason takes a quick glance at Nico causing Leo to raise a brow. _Could you be any more obvious?_ Nico thinks, motioning the blond to just _shut the hell up_. Jason readjusts his glasses and clears his throat. “I told them to grab some snacks. They’ll be here soon.”

Nico takes a shaky breath, his eyes following the bottle of Bacardi as Leo starts pouring some into each cup, wondering how much he would have to drink at once in order to drown himself. “You don’t have to drink any if you don’t want to,” Jason whispers to Nico, making him jump. “You can get water in the fridge.”

Just as Nico was about to reply, he hears the door open. Once he sees those sea-green eyes and dark hair, he can’t help but freeze. He scans down past his bright orange t-shirt to his hand, intertwined with another. Nico feels his hands ball into fists as he watches Percy laughing with the wavy blond-haired girl, Annabeth. Nico wishes they didn’t look so perfect with each other. 

“Sorry we’re late! We were going to get snacks, but then we found out the store was closed,” Percy says, taking a seat between Piper and Leo (thankfully), Annabeth promptly following her boyfriend’s example. Percy kisses Annabeth’s cheek, and Nico just wants to gag. He stares at the cup in front of him, now filled with alcohol. _Well, so much for the “no alcohol” idea. I need this._ He picks up the cup and takes a huge gulp, the taste of alcohol burning his throat as he swallows. 

When Nico sets down his now almost empty cup, he sees that everyone is staring at him with wide eyes. “Well, it is a party, isn’t it?” He says, nodding towards Leo.

“R- right,” Leo stutters. He takes a moment to compose himself, then he picks up his cup and raises it for a toast. “The death kid is right! Bottoms up everybody!”

 

* * *

 

  
Nico can’t see clearly. He knows that he’s slurring his words, but he honestly stopped caring a long time ago. He has no idea how long he’s been at this party, but he feels great, so he doesn’t plan on leaving anytime soon.

At least until he heard a knock on the door.

“Was anyone else invited?” Hazel asks, her voice much more smooth than Nico’s, but there’s a hint of intoxication in her voice.

“Maybe its Leo’s imaginary girlfriend,” Frank says.

“Hey! She’s not imaginary, she just lives far away!” Leo retorts.

“Suuuuure she does,” Frank says, making everyone laugh. Leo fumes and crosses his arms, for once not having some sarcastic comeback.

Jason opens the door and Nico almost drops his cup. Standing in the doorway is a mess of curly blond hair and bright blue eyes. 

“Sorry guys, I got caught up doing a group project. Lou Ellen never lets me leave until we finish,” says Will Solace, scratching the back of his head. “Am I too late to join the party?”

“Not at all!” Jason says enthusiastically, stepping aside to let Will inside. “Everybody, this is Will Solace, he’s in one of my classes and I decided to let him join.”

Nico catches Jason glance in his direction and shoots him a death glare. In return, Jason smiles and mouths a quick “you’re welcome”. _Of course he’d invite Will. Why the hell not?_

“I know you! You were in one of my classes last year. Biology, wasn’t it? You were the one who knew all the med stuff,” Percy says.

Will laughs, making Nico catch his breath at the clear sound echoing through the room. “Yup, sounds like me,” Will answers, nodding his head.

Will’s blue eyes scan the room until he finds Nico, then he smiles brightly. The dark haired boy almost had to shade his eyes with his hands because of how blinding it was. The intoxication in his bloodstream definitely did _not_ help him in this situation.

Will sits down gently next to Nico, causing the latter to shift away from the other slightly. “Hey Death Boy, fancy meeting you here,” Will says, his smile blinding when he sits this close.

“Yeah, yeah Sunshine. Turn it down,” Nico says, actually motioning to shade his eyes. There’s a slight slur to his words.

Will frowns. “Turn what down?”

“Don’t mind the shadow boy, he’s had a few too many if ya know what I mean,” Leo says, making a drinking motion with his hands. “Speaking of which, I think it’s time for some Drink or Dare!”

“Don’t you mean Truth of Dare?” Piper asks.

“No, no pretty girl, that’s for kids. In college it’s Drink or Dare! The trick is, the more you choose drink, the more likely you’ll do a crazy dare full out later.”

“That sounds like an awful idea,” Percy says, nodding his head. “Let’s do it.”

Everyone cheers, even Nico. _What exactly am I doing? This isn’t m_ e, the back of his mind nags him. He pushes that thought away quickly.

“Perfect! I’ll start,” Leo says. “Frank, drink or dare?”

“I- I’ll just drink,” Frank says nervously. He picks up his cup and takes a sip.

“Oh please, you gotta drink more than that!” Leo retorts. 

Frank frowns, but complies. The next few rounds follow in a similar fashion, each person choosing to drink instead of dare. It’s obvious some are doing it to prolong the inevitable “yes” they’ll eventually end up saying (Frank, Hazel, Piper, and Annabeth) and the others are mostly just anxiously watching and waiting for the other group to crack (Leo, Percy, and Jason). Nico isn’t sure which side he would fall on, probably a bit of both. Will looks like he just wants to fit in with the crowd since he’s new to the group.

Nico isn’t certain if he can stand anymore at this point.

“Death Boy,” Will starts, turning to Nico. “Drink or dare?”

Nico can’t help but think how beautiful Will looks when they look into each other’s eyes. The rest of the world seems so far away… “Dare,” Nico responds without thinking.

The whole room says “oooooo” at the first dare of the night. “Alrighty, I dare you to sing something.” There are a few snickers around the room. As if Nico would ever do that.

“Sing? You’re the one with the pretty voice though,” Nico says, gazing deeply into Will’s eyes. “Really pretty…” Nico’s voice tapers off at the end. Will’s face flushes a bright pink and he averts his gaze. “What do you want me to sing, Sunshine?”

“W- whatever you want,” Will stutters. After a pause, he adds, “Whichever song describes you best.”

“Hmm.” Nico places a hand on his chin. He sings softly, a tune that sounds suspiciously like Party in the USA. 

The room bursts out in laughter. “Baha, yeah that’s totally you. Every lyric,” Leo says, clutching his sides.

“I was just warming up you stupid dirt face mechanic,” Nico says, giving him one of his famous death glares. Leo snorts, but stays silent. 

Nico takes a big gulp of alcohol from his cup, clearing his throat afterward. He tries his best to stand, but only stumbles and Will grabs his arm before he falls, telling him to be careful. The touch makes Nico’s already burning face feel even warmer.  
Nico gives up on the whole standing thing and returns to his seat. He clears his throat again, then his voice fills the room.

 

" _H_ _ello, hello_  
_Anybody out there? Cause I don't hear a sound_  
_Alone, alone_  
_I don't really know where the world is but I miss it now_

_I'm out on the edge and I'm screaming my name_  
_Like a fool at the top of my lungs_  
_Sometimes when I close my eyes I pretend I'm alright_  
_But it's never enough_

_Cause my echo, echo_  
_Is the only voice coming back_  
_Shadow, shadow_  
_Is the only friend that I have_

_Listen, listen_  
_I would take a whisper if that's all you had to give_  
_But it isn't, is it?_  
_You could come and save me and try to chase the crazy right out of my head_

_I'm out on the edge and I'm screaming my name_  
_Like a fool at the top of my lungs_  
_Sometimes when I close my eyes I pretend I'm alright_  
_But it's never enough_

_Cause my echo, echo_  
_Is the only voice coming back_  
_Shadow, shadow_  
_Is the only friend that I have_

_I don't wanna be an island_  
_I just wanna feel alive and_  
_Get to see your face again_

_I don't wanna be an island_  
_I just wanna feel alive and_  
_Get to see your face again_

_But 'til then_  
_Just my echo, my shadow_  
_You're my only friend and..._

_I'm out on the edge and I'm screaming my name_  
_Like a fool at the top of my lungs_  
_Sometimes when I close my eyes I pretend I'm alright_  
_But it's never enough_

_Cause my echo, echo_  
_Oh my shadow, shadow_

_Hello, hello_  
_Anybody out there?"_

 

Nico stumbled of some of the words when he sang, also out of tune in other places. There was a lingering silence once he finished the piece, along with the shocked faces of everyone in the room. Nico can’t help but notice how amazing Will’s wore that particular look when he stared intently into Nico’s eyes.

Those eyes are the last thing Nico remembers that night… 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song is "Echo" by Jason Walker.  
> If you got this far, thanks for reading! Hope you enjoy it so far! :)


	5. Black and White

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone that left kudos and comments so far! You give me life...  
> I seem to always take a week to update without meaning to. Welp, tis life I suppose.

When Nico’s eyes flutter open sometime later, instead of seeing the darker walls of his apartment, he finds himself in surrounded by white ones. Light floods into the room, reflecting off the walls, causing him groan and squeeze his eyes shut, rolling on his stomach. He places a soft, white pillow over his head to make sure no light reaches his eyes. It wasn’t until he takes a deep breath and smells the unfamiliar scent of the sheets that it hits him.

_Where the hell am I?_

Nico bolts upright, immediately regretting this action when his head pounds in his skull. After groaning about his unfortunate splitting headache that happens to be effecting him so early in the morning, fragments of the past night begin to slowly come back. Leo brining alcohol, seeing Percy, drinking way more than he should have, and then Will. Will came too. _I swear to god I’m going to kill Jason for that_ , Nico thinks to himself. Then after… What happened after Will came?

Nico rubs his forehead and falls back onto the bed. He can figure all that out later, once his hangover goes away. For now, he needs to figure out where in the hell he is. It’s obviously not Jason’s since he was just there, he doubts Frank would take him in willingly, and judging by apparent cleanliness of this room, it can’t be Leo’s. The more he thinks, the more his brain starts pounding and the less he cares about his situation. After all, right now he is very comfortable…

The door to the bedroom creaks open slowly, making Nico’s eyes widen and dart towards the sound. He is greeted by a pair of familiar sparkling blue eyes and wavy blond hair. Once he sees that Nico is awake, he smiles brightly. “So Death Boy finally rises!” 

Will’s loud voice makes Nico’s headache worse. He sits up slowly, rubbing his temple. “The hell? Why are you here?” Nico asks, raising a brow.

“Wow. Rude. Considering I carried your drunk butt all the way to my house, even though you threw up on the way. I think I deserve a ‘thank you’,” Will says, resting a hand on his hip.

“ _Y_ _our_ house?” Nico exclaims.

“Yes, this is in fact my house Death Boy,” Will answers. “I didn’t know where you lived and all of your friends were a bit too drunk to give me proper instructions.”

“Ugh, can you _please_ talk quieter Solace, my head is pounding,” Nico groans, covering his face with his hands. “Get me some coffee or something, I need to get rid of this headache.”

“Please, all those myths about “remedies” for hangovers are ridiculous. None of them actually work,” Will explains. “The only way to get over a hangover is wait until it’s out of your system. No way around it.” 

Nico sighs, knowing it would just make his headache worse if he got into a fight with the blond boy. “Geez, just shut it and give me some coffee.”

“Yes sir,” Will says while saluting, then leaves the room. Nico takes this opportunity to look around for his phone. Once he finds it on the nightstand next to the bed, he sees that he has a message from around 2am last night.

Jason: _I hope you appreciate all I do for you. Have fun at Will’s!_

Nico growls. Of course this was Jason’s doing.

Nico: _I hope you know you’re a dead man next time I see you._

Nico puts down his phone angrily and then notices something; he’s still wearing the same clothes he was wearing yesterday. _If Will was telling the truth and he did throw up, wouldn’t people normally not want to have the smell of vomit in their bed?_ Now that he thought about it, he could vaguely smell it on his clothes. _It’s a good thing he didn’t though…_ _He would’ve seen them._ Nico looks down at his hands. He didn’t want Will to see how weak he was.

Will opens the door, distracting Nico from his thoughts. He has a coffee cup in hand and gives it to Nico. “It’s hot, so be careful.”

Nico grunts. “What are you, my Mom?”

“I’m hurt… I was just trying to look after my friend,” Will says, plastering a pretend pout on his face.

“Oh, is that it?” Nico asks. He takes a sip of his coffee. Once it hits his tongue, he spits it out. “Holy shit, that is the worst coffee I’ve ever had in my life!”

“Darn, really? I know all the chemical properties of the stuff and what they effect, but can never seem to make it correctly,” Will says, frowning.

“You really are a medical nerd aren’t you,” Nico says flatly.

“Kinda have to be if I wanna to be a doctor.”

“You want to be a doctor?” Nico exclaims. His raised voice makes his headache return with a vengeance. He rests his head on his hand, looking down at his lap and groans. “I guess that explains why your bedroom looks like a hospital room, I suppose. I thought you were a music major or something.”

Will bursts out laughing, which would normally make Nico feel light and warm, but now it just causes him pain. “Oh, sorry,” Will apologizes, remembering the dark haired boy’s situation. “First off, I didn’t really get to choose my room’s décor. Secondly, I just sing for fun. I told you before that no one has really heard me sing.”

“Well yeah, but you’re so good at it…” Nico’s voice trails off. He looks up at Will’s face to see the blond gaping at him. “I- I mean, nothing. Forget about it.”

“No, no, you’re fine. I just think you’re a much better singer than I am,” Will says, beaming.

“What? You haven’t heard me sing.”

“Oh, but I have Death Boy,” Will says, smirking. “Intoxication can be a scary thing. Well, for the one who’s drunk anyways. I was perfectly sober for your little performance.” 

“ _What_?” Nico says, eyes widening.

“Oh yes. Does a certain game called “Drink or Dare” ring any bells?”

Nico pauses for a moment. He does remember Leo saying something about that… He also recalls choosing “drink” a good amount of times… Then finally saying dare… 

“You’ve  _got_ to be kidding me,” Nico finally says.

“Don’t be like that Death Boy, you were pretty good considering how out of it you were,” Will says, playful smile dancing on his face.

“I’m going to knock that stupid grin off your face if you keep that up Solace,” Nico growls.

“Fine, fine,” Will says, putting his hands up in surrender. 

Nico glares at the blond, but the intensity quickly falters. They gaze at one another for a moment, taking in each other’s eyes. Will’s blue eyes remind Nico of a bright and clear summer sky. They seem to have a way to tear though Nico’s hard-built walls, making him slightly uncomfortable, but at the same time causing his chest to warm up and his body to relax. Even though Will can by annoying whenever he opens his mouth, he always seems to calm Nico’s nerves, especially when he sings. It’s easier for him to breathe when Will is around.

There’s a moment when Will looks down at Nico’s hands while frowning, then he quickly returns to Nico’s gaze. That moment disappears as quickly as it came when Will straightens his back and plants another one of his bright smiles on his face. “So something’s been bothering me,” he begins.

Nico raises a brow. “And that is?”

“You say I’m a pretty decent singer, but you always fall asleep whenever I sing,” the blond continues, genuine concern painted on his face. “How should I take that exactly?”

“Wha-,” Nico starts. He pauses for a second. “Oh…” 

Will raises a brow, nodding for him to continue. “Well, I haven’t been getting much sleep so…” Nico responds, shifting around in the bed. “It has nothing to do with you, really.”

“Is that so,” Will says, mouth twitching into a frown.

“I’ll prove it to you. Sing for me now and I promise I won’t sleep this time,” Nico proposes.

“R-right now?” Will says, blush creeping on his face. He averts his gaze. “Won’t that make your headache worse?”

“I’ll be fine,” Nico responds. _Your voice is the only thing that’s soothing for me these days_.

“Alright,” Will says nervously. He takes a seat on the bed next to Nico, making the dark haired boy’s face grow warm. “Here I go.”

Will closes his eyes and leans back on the headboard. His soft voice begins to fill the room. 

“ _This whole city's black and white_  
_Tell me what is your color._  
_Could it be the same as mine?_  
_Faded greens and blue street lights_  
_There's a red fire burning_  
_From the sea up to the sky._

_'Cause I don't want to wait until tomorrow_  
_To tell you how I'd feel the rest of my life_  
_You don't want a waste another minute when you realize_  
_Walking on the dark side of the evening_  
_Maybe it was you, that opened my eyes_  
_Burning like a fire on the water_  
_The city of black and white._  
_Won't you just stay?_  
_Won't you just stay?_

_I'm on the top still looking down_  
_And they're coming up to me_  
_It's where the whole world wants to be found_  
_Golden rings and coffee brown_  
_There's a white flag waving_  
_Where my heart is on the ground._

_'Cause I don't want to wait until tomorrow_  
_To tell you how I'd feel the rest of my life_  
_You don't want a waste another minute when you realize_  
_Walking on the dark side of the evening_  
_Maybe it was you that opened my eyes_  
_Burning like a fire on the water_  
_The city of black and white._  
_Won't you just stay?_  
_Won't you just stay?_

_Won't you just stay now_  
_When the light goes_  
_Under a dark street_  
_No one else knows_  
_So take my hand_  
_I'll carry you, you can carry me._

_'Cause I don't want to wait until tomorrow_  
_To tell you how I'd feel the rest of my life_

_You don't want a waste another minute when you realize_  
_Walking on the dark side of the evening_  
_Maybe it was you, that opened my eyes_  
_Burning like a fire on the water_  
_The city of black_ …”

The room falls silent, breaking Nico from his trance. He finds himself looking up at Will who is staring at him with wide eyes and a hand on his cheek. It takes a moment for Nico to realize that that particular hand was his.

“Oh! Umm, sorry,” Nico stammers, retracting his hand quickly. He hardly remembers even doing that. He just knew that Wills face looked so _beautiful_ when he sang. From his soft lips moving to the melody to the freckles that seemed to dance on his cheeks… 

Will shakes his head and repositions himself so he’s straight in front of Nico’s face. Will cups both of his hands around Nico’s cheeks and stares at him deeply in the eyes. Will’s hands seem to burn on Nico’s cold skin. One of his thumbs across Nico’s cheek, causing the dark haired boy to catch his breath, feeling his heart beating faster as if wanting to break free from his chest. Will closes his eyes, bringing Nico’s face in closer until their warm breaths meld together. The blond then quickly pulls away, coughing.

“Holy shit, your breath smells like butyric acid,” Will gags out.

Nico stares at the boy in front of him with wide eyes. Without thinking, he pulls off the white sheets covering him, quickly grabbing his phone then racing for the door. Before his hand can reach the knob, he feels a warm hand pull him back.

“You’re leaving?” Will asks, concern weaved into his words.

“Y-yeah. I’ll see you later,” Nico says, not turning back. He pulls his hand away forcefully and runs out the door. He hardly looks where he’s going, but somehow manages to make it out of the apartment and out onto the street. He doesn’t care which direction he goes, as long as it’s far away from where he just was.

Soon he slows down his pace, trying to catch his breath and collect his thoughts. _Did he almost just_ … Nico’s face still feels hot, the soft touch of Will’s hand seeming to linger on his skin. Nico brushes one of his cold hands across his cheek.

_I can’t do this._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song is called "City of Black and White" by Mat Kearney. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and have a lovely day :)


	6. Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go again... No song in this one, but I did have the song "Down" by Jason Walker in my head as I wrote this (hence the chapter title). I swear he made most of his songs specifically for Nico's angst.  
> Anyways, hope y'all enjoy!

As much as Nico would rather cut off of humanity completely and lock himself in his apartment, he finds himself here, idly walking across the crowded campus hallways after his classes are finished for the day until he finds himself in front of one of the people he wants to see the least.

“Nico!” Percy says, sea-green eyes widening. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you.”

Nico pauses. He tries to swallow, but his throat is too constricted and he can hardly breathe. He plants a frown on his face to hide his discomfort. Percy luckily doesn’t wait for Nico to answer, he simply gestures for the younger boy to follow. Nico lets out a shaky breath and trails behind him.

Percy leads Nico out of the crowded hall to an unoccupied picnic table outside. Once they take a seat across from each other, Percy stares at Nico intently. “Will wants to know why you’re ignoring him.”

“What?” 

“The party was two weeks ago and you haven’t talked to Will or answered any of his messages since then,” Percy says, resting his arms on the table and leaning in towards the dark haired boy in front of him. Percy has always smelled like the ocean on a warm summer day, and Nico could almost catch the scent when the wind blew softly in his direction. He has learned to hate that smell.

“So? What does that have to do with you?” Nico growls.

“Hey man, I know you hate me for some reason,” Percy starts, making Nico snort. _What am I doing here_ … Percy raises a brow but continues. “But I bumped into Will yesterday and he seemed depressed about something.”

“Oh, and you assume that’s my fault?” Nico snaps.

Percy sighs. “No, that’s not what I meant. He wanted me to ask you if you were okay. He’s worried about you.” 

“Why do you care? Just leave me alone. You’re good at that,” Nico says, clenching his hands on his lap.

“What? It’s not my fault you decide to disappear all the time,” Percy says, taking his arms off the table and straightening his back. “But that’s not what I’m trying to get at now, Will-” 

“Ugh, shut up! Why can’t everyone just leave me alone?!” Nico yells, face red from anger. He looks over his shoulder to see that people are staring at them. “I’m leaving,” Nico says monotonously, standing up from the table. 

“Wait!” Percy exclaims, grabbing Nico’s hand, which Nico quickly yanks away.

“Don’t touch me,” Nico says, glaring into those sea-green eyes he used to easily get lost in. Now he feels like he’s drowning in them. “It was nice to have this little chat. Goodbye Percy,” Nico says, fake smile stretching across his lips. He turns on his heel and walks away as quickly as he can in the direction of his apartment. To make matters even worse, rain starts to pour down briskly on the boy. He hardly even notices until the cool water begins to soak through his clothes and onto his skin. 

When Nico finally enters his apartment, he slams the door behind him and slips off his backpack, letting it fall to the ground. Water drips off of him creating a puddle on the floor, but at this point he doesn’t care. He slumps against the wall, clutching his arms around his stomach. He allows his knees to give out and his back to slide down the wall until he’s sitting on the floor, resting his forehead on his knees. He feels hot tears to slide down his cheeks, melding with the cool ones already on his face as he chokes back sobs itching to escape his lips. _I can’t take this anymore. Why do I have to be this way?_

He takes a few deep breaths and stands back up, ineffectively trying to wipe away the tears stained on his face. He walks over to the kitchen and grabs a steak knife from one of the drawers. He pushes up one of his drenched sleeves and stares at the scars engraved onto his arm. _I’m too weak, I always have been. I just want the pain to go away._

His hand trembles as he places the blade on his wrist. At that moment, his mind fills with the image of Will. His beautiful blue eyes sparkling, smile blinding. Nico can still remember how it felt to have the warm touch of Will’s hand on his skin. Fresh tears fill his eyes. _I’m sorry, Will._ He grips the handle hard, pressing the sharp edge deep into his skin.

 

* * *

 

Nico could hardly find the drive to get out of bed for the next few days, let alone go to classes. After the following weekend passes, he forces himself to get up and change. He knows that if he flunks out of class, his father will find out. Nico would rather do _anything_ than see that face again…

Before he leaves his room, he looks into the mirror. The disheveled boy staring back at him looks as pitiful as he feels. His dark hair looks like he just got out of bed (which he did) and the dark circles under his eyes are pronounced. There are remnants of his eyes being red and puffy.

Nico has hardly eaten anything the past few days, and this morning was no exception. He’s never really had much of an appetite, but now he just hasn’t felt the need to eat. He opts out of breakfast and takes a step outside, the brightness causing him to squint. It wasn’t a particularly sunny day, but he was used to the darkness of his room. Luckily the heatwave was over and the colder air was setting in, so Nico had an excuse to wear his sweatshirt and have the hood hide most of his face. 

When he walks into his first class, he takes a seat in the back corner, as usual. Even though Forensics is his favorite subject, he can’t seem to focus. He spends most of the class time resting his chin in his hand and staring at the PowerPoint slides, but not processing them or even writing them down. It seems like years pass before class is over and he can finally get out of there.

He makes his way across the crowded hallways towards one of the dining halls, not sure if he is actually going to eat anything yet, but he has nothing better to do between now and his next class. 

“You’re Nico di Angelo, right?” a girl about Nico’s height with short, dark hair asks. 

“Yeah?” Nico responds, elongating the word as if to say “how the _hell_ do you know and why are you asking”.

“Perfect, I need to talk to you,” she says insistently, pulling Nico’s arm.

Nico yanks his arm out of the girl’s grasp. “ _Don’t_ touch me. I have a class to go to,” he lies.

The girl places her hand on her chin and raises a brow. “Huh. Will was right.” The fact that Will’s name came out of her mouth makes Nico flinch. Just as he is about to open his mouth, the girl continues. “You won’t die from missing one class, just follow me.” 

“No,” Nico deadpans. 

The girl sighs. “Fine then. We’ll just talk here,” she says, slowly raising her voice with each word. “What the _hell_ do you think you’re doing?” 

People have already begun to stare at them. “I don’t see how that’s any of your business. I don’t even know who you are.” 

She ignores Nico and continues. “Will has been depressed for _weeks_ and it has to be your fault.”

“Oh yeah? And why is that?” Nico asks, trying to keep his best poker face on. He raises a brow at the girl fuming in front of him. 

“Are you _stupid_ or something? He obviously-”

“Lou Ellen, didn’t someone ever tell you not to yell in the hallway?” a familiar voice calls behind Nico, making him jump. Nico turns slowly, hoping he is wrong about who the voice belongs to.

Nico’s pale brown eyes widen once they meet blue ones. He quickly averts his gaze down to his shoes, wishing he could just melt into the floor he’s standing on. His flight instinct soon kicks in, but when he tries to run away, his feet seem glued to where he is. 

“Nico…” Will says, making Nico’s heart skip at the sound of his first name coming out of those sweet lips. His forlorn voice cuts through Nico, making him feel physical pain in his chest. He tries to speak, but nothing comes out. Nico starts to think that something _besides_ words might come out of his mouth soon if he doesn’t get out of there.

“Alright,” the girl, Lou Ellen, says, reminding Nico that she’s still there. “Time for you two to have some quality alone time. Go on,” she insists, gesturing for them start walking.

“Um…,” Will starts. He then nods at Lou Ellen and looks back at the boy in front of him. Nico can’t help but look back into those beautiful eyes. Now that he finally gets a good look at the blond, he notices that those blue eyes seem to have lost some of their usual luster, he even had bags sagging beneath them. _Was that really my fault?_

Will gestures for Nico to follow while planting an obviously fake smile on his lips and Nico feels like his heart just got ripped out of his chest. Even though his brain tells him to go in any direction but where Will is going, his legs have different ideas. Nico’s eyes wander down at Will’s hand, remembering how soft and warm it felt in his own not too long ago. It was just before Will sang to him for the second time. Nico wants more than anything to feel that warmth again.

He also knows that that is something he doesn’t deserve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliffhangers are the best. Well when I make them, that is.


	7. Hanging By a Moment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayyyy starting college sucks. Sorry this took a while, but here we go!

Will leads the way around campus, not turning back to Nico once. Nico wants so desperately to run away, to never confront the boy in front of him again. At the same time, he feels that he needs to follow Will, to never let him out if his sight again. Nico’s whole body trembles at the idea that when Will does finally turn back at him, the only thing on his face will be disappointment. He sees that face much too often. Will is the last person he wants to see with that face, especially pointed directly at him.

After a few minutes of maneuvering around campus, Nico finds them approaching the music building. _Oh, of course Will would come here_ , Nico thinks, chuckling a bit to himself. He quickly stops himself, hoping the blond didn’t hear. Fortunately, Will keeps on walking and opens the door to the building, holding it long enough for Nico to get through, but not long enough to look him in the face. Nico’s heart starts beating faster as they make their way through the maze of hallways. At this point, he just wishes they could get this over with, then he can go home and be in peaceful silence and agonize over whatever Will ends up saying to him.

They finally make it to an empty room after what feels like hours to Nico. The room is very similar to the one where Will invited Nico to listen to him sing, very open with light pouring in through a single window and a piano sitting in the middle of a room surrounded by a few chairs. Will walks up to the window at stares out of it blankly, taking a big sigh. Nico, being unsure what he should do, just stands in the doorway and stares at the back of Will. The way the sun’s light reflects of his blond hair and tanned skin makes it seem as if he’s glowing. He looks so picturesque standing there, and Nico wants nothing more than for this moment to never end. Nico has never felt more calm than he did right then, staring at the back of this beautiful blond boy.

Nico’s dream shatters once he sees Will start to move. Nico feels his heart beat faster and whole body begins to shake once again. Instead of turning to face Nico, the blond turns to the side and walks toward the piano. He then gently pulls out the chair in front of it and sits down. From the doorway, Nico watches as Will places his hand on the keys, seeing how his fingers tremble slightly just before he presses them down and begins to fill the room with sound.

 

_“Desperate for changing, starving for truth_   
_I'm closer to where I started, I'm chasing after you_

_I'm falling even more in love with you_   
_Letting go of all I've held on to_   
_I'm standing here until you make me move_   
_I'm hanging by a moment here with you_

_Forgetting all I'm lacking, completely incomplete_   
_I'll take your invitation, you take all of me now_

_I'm falling even more in love with you_   
_Letting go of all I've held on to_   
_I'm standing here until you make me move_   
_I'm hanging by a moment here with you_   
_I'm living for the only thing I know_   
_I'm running and not quite sure where to go_   
_And I don't know what I'm diving into_   
_Just hanging by a moment here with you_

_There's nothing else to lose, there's nothing else to find_   
_There's nothing in the world that can change my mind_   
_There is nothing else_   
_There is nothing else_   
_There is nothing else_

_Desperate for changing, starving for truth_   
_I'm closer to where I started, I'm chasing after you_

_I'm falling even more in love with you_   
_Letting go of all I've held on to_   
_I'm standing here until you make me move_   
_I'm hanging by a moment here with you_   
_I'm living for the only thing I know_   
_I'm running and not quite sure where to go_   
_And I don't know what I'm diving into_   
_Just hanging by a moment here with you_

_Just hanging by a moment_   
_Just hanging by a moment_   
_I'm hanging by a moment_   
_Just hanging by a moment here with you”_

 

Nico didn’t know why, but he almost feels like crying. He stares at the back of Will’s head, seeing his fingers leave the keys while hearing a gentle sigh. Nico realizes that at some point, he started to lean against the side of the doorway as if it were a crutch, the only think keeping him from falling down.

Will turns around swiftly, making Nico catch his breath. The blond has sad eyes, but he still plants a smile on his face. “I’m surprised to see you still awake there, Death Boy.”

“Oh shut up, Solace,” Nico responds without skipping a beat. He then quickly stands up straight, widening his eyes. “Umm…”

Will lets out a small chuckle and averts his gaze from Nico. _You look so much better when you laugh_.

“You know,” Will starts, keeping his eyes away from the other boy. “Sometimes, it’s very difficult to show someone how you feel using just words.” Will pauses and takes a quick glance at Nico, who has a brow raised in confusion. “So, you try to find other ways, but it’s never easy…” Nico could see Will’s hands trembling. “And sometimes, you mess up in a bad way that makes everything worse.”

“Uh huh…” Nico responds, trying to figure out where the blond is trying to go with this.

“So, I guess what I’m trying to say is…” Another pause. He takes a deep breath before saying very quickly, “I use singing. To convey what I’m feeling, that is.”

“What?” Nico asks, not entirely sure if he heard correctly.

“Umm,” Will mumbles. Nico studies the boy in front of him. It doesn’t make sense, Will was always the confident, happy, and at times annoying person. _Why is he acting like this?_

“Do you remember the first time you heard me sing?” Will asks after a few moments. I nod slowly, distracted by how strangely he’s acting. “Well, that morning, I had just broke up with my girlfriend.”

That caught Nico’s attention. “Your what?”

“Uh, well my ex-girlfriend you could say.” Nico flinches at the word and looks down at his shoes. _Girlfriend_. _Of course_. “It… wasn’t working. We were together for a year and I couldn’t find it in myself to love her, no matter how much I wanted it to work. She could tell too. So she broke up with me.”

Nico feels like he’s supposed to say “I’m sorry to hear that” or something, but he just can’t bring himself to say anything. He waits for Will to continue. “After she did that, I felt awful. Like there was something wrong with me. So I came here. I always feel better when I sing after all. I just sang what I was feeling. A promise that I would go back to her once I learned whatever the heck was wrong with me.”

Nico wants to sink into the floor. _Why do you have to tell me this? Just leave me alone… Please…_

“But I won’t be able to keep that promise.” Nico looks up at Will’s face to see him looking directly into Nico’s brown eyes, making the boy’s heart skip a beat. 

“Wh- why not?” Nico stutters.

“I figured out the problem,” Will states, all the nervousness from before faded away. “The reason I didn’t love her was because I _couldn’t_.”

“I- I don’t…”

“What I’m trying to say is, she wasn’t my type,” Will says, slight smile peeking through his lips. 

“T- type?”

“Exactly. I like guys,” Will states, a slight blush creeping on his cheeks.

Nico couldn’t breathe. His eyes dart around the room until they fall back on Will. He tries to speak, but the only thing that comes out is a small squeak.

“More specifically, I like you,” Will continues, averting his gaze slightly.

Nico didn’t know what to do. It feels like a dream, like he’s no longer in his body. His mind can’t think straight and his mouth can’t seem to form words, so he just stands there, jaw open in amazement.

“I- I’m sorry if it makes you feel awkward,” Will stutters, his nerves returning. “I just had to tell you or I’d go crazy. I- I’ll just leave now, I guess.” He makes his way toward the doorway where Nico is standing.

Nico barely heard what Will just said. He’s still trying to process what just happened. When he sees Will walk by him, he snaps out of his thoughts and grabs Will’s arm. “Wait!”

Will jumps at the contact and turns to look at Nico with an eyebrow raised. “Um, what you said is true right?” Nico asks hesitantly.

“Yes, but you don’t have to do anything. I already know you don’t feel the same way. It’s fine,” Will says, not looking Nico in the eyes.

Nico can’t stop his eyes from filling with tears. He tries to choke them down, but it’s not working. He lets go of Will’s arm and covers his face with his hands, trying desperately to hide how weak he feels. 

“Hey! Why are you crying? Are you okay?” Nico hears Will ask frantically, feeling hands rest on his shoulders.

“I’m f- fine,” Nico chokes out after he contains himself. 

“Are you sure?” Will asks, lifting Nico’s chin to look him in the eye. Nico looks deeply into those blue eyes and his legs start to feel weak. _I can’t believe_ …

“Yeah,” Nico answers, rubbing underneath his eyes. “You really are just too much, Solace.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Will asks, still looking flustered.

“Nothing,” Nico says. “You don’t have to do that, by the way.”

“Do what?”

“Leave,” Nico answers. “I wouldn’t forgive myself if I let you leave.” He smiles softly as he looks up into Will’s eyes.

Then Nico does something he’s never done (willingly) to anyone in his life. He hugs Will. He buries his head in the blonde’s shoulder, letting the warmth of the other’s body flow into his. Soon, he feels arms wrap around his waist and Nico lets tears fall down his cheeks yet again. He feels Will shaking in his arms. Is he crying too?

Nico never wants to let go. He doesn’t want to let anyone go ever again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cute and happy ending right? Nah bro. We ain't done. Not yet...

**Author's Note:**

> Not gonna lie, when I first thought of "Darth Drooler", I had to take a moment to contain myself. I need help... Anyways, thank you for reading! I might continue this story if I'm feeling it.


End file.
